FB: American Rivers Conference

[retagent]

I was going to answer with a bit more thought on the WIAC board, but since you kept it going here....

Some have made the argument about the size of the WIAC institutions being an advantage. That was never my point, however, since as bw points out, that is irrelevant. These back and forths have gone on a number of times, but the last has been a while ago, so I don't blame bw for pinning it on me. These things tend to get mashed together, and we can't expect everyone to remember who posted what months ago. I have done the same, so let's just say it's not worth the effort, since we all have a different outlook.

[D3Dutchman]

Is there too much small college football in Iowa, i.e. is the talent spread too thin?  I think this is a fair question. Aside from Wartburg's run last year, there hasn't been much to cheer about from a national relevancy standpoint.  Dubuque's recent embarrassment certainly didn't help our cause.  Would like to see the Dutch step up and turn around what has been their most mediocre stretch of football in a very long time. I think they have a shot with a young squad returning a lot next year. 

[doolittledog]

Is there too much small college football in Iowa, i.e. is the talent spread too thin?  I think this is a fair question. Aside from Wartburg's run last year, there hasn't been much to cheer about from a national relevancy standpoint.  Dubuque's recent embarrassment certainly didn't help our cause.  Would like to see the Dutch step up and turn around what has been their most mediocre stretch of football in a very long time. I think they have a shot with a young squad returning a lot next year.

If you go back 15 years...
Waldorf moved from junior college to NAIA
Briar Cliff added football and is NAIA
Dordt added football and is NAIA
Grand View added football and is NAIA 

Upper Iowa moved from D3 backwater, to a D2 program that recruits kids that once would have moved to the upper level D3 schools.
William Penn moved from a poor D3 team to the NAIA and does a better job of recruiting.
Dubuque went from one of the worst programs in D3 to one with some of the nicest facilities in the state and a conference title contender. 

All 3 of those schools were darn near automatic wins back in the day that are now stealing recruits from other schools.  Plus with 4 NAIA schools that didn't have football programs 15 years ago, you now are losing some recruits to those schools as well.  You have 4 schools add football and 3 schools improve what they are doing and that makes a recipe for recruits being spread out over all the schools that didn't happen in the past.

Another thing I wonder about, and I have done no research, is I wonder if with the conference having less of a national profile we now get a tougher 1st round match up than back in the day.  That could also spell trouble for the IIAC.  If you go from a 1st round home game against a 2nd place team from a tough conference or a 1st round home game against a conference champ from a lesser conference to now going on the road against conference champs from major D3 conferences that will take a toll on how far a team advances.   

[D3Dutchman]

Great points...I think the NAIA schools are pretty savvy about how they recruit.  Heard a GV coach on the radio in DSM talking about the Morningside/UWW matchup. He acknowledged when pressed that they essentially recruit the same type of athlete as D3, however they compare more with D2 due to the "scholarships" they offer.  I think they get mileage out of that. 

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Is there too much small college football in Iowa, i.e. is the talent spread too thin?  I think this is a fair question. Aside from Wartburg's run last year, there hasn't been much to cheer about from a national relevancy standpoint.  Dubuque's recent embarrassment certainly didn't help our cause.  Would like to see the Dutch step up and turn around what has been their most mediocre stretch of football in a very long time. I think they have a shot with a young squad returning a lot next year.

Good that Central had a young squad for 2015.  The offense should get better but I'm not sure a lack of maturity was the problem with the defense.

Anyway, I think the next IIAC team to win a regional championship, will be the first one to get a marching band.

[D3Dutchman]

Central used to have a marching band way back in the day...they should bring it back.

[Fannosaurus Rex]

They were great.  In my day they even had three baton twirlers in hot little baton twirler suits with sequins. 

[5 Words or Less]

ISU's hire has DIII background
http://m.cyclones.com/mobile/ViewArticle.dbml?atclid=210542387&DB_OEM_ID=10700&;

[5 Words or Less]

Iowa Public School Graduation Counts
https://www.educateiowa.gov/education-statistics

1992 = 31,648
1993 = 33,008
1994 = 32,545
1995 = 34,078
1996 = 34,565
1997 = 35,650
1998 = 36,808
1999 = 37,166
2000 = 37,124
2001 = n/a
2002 = 36,469
2003 = 36,728
2004 = 36,834
2005 = 36,434
2006 = 37,611
2007 = 38,448
2008 = 39,114
2009 = 38,050
2010 = 37,913
2011 = 37,544
2012 = 36,942
2013 = 36,550
2014 = 36,538
2015 = 36,363
(and projected...)
2016 = 36,043 (11th graders)
2017 = 36,749 (10th graders)
2018 = 37,463 (9th graders)
2019 = 35,863 (8th graders)
2020 = 35,711 (7th graders)
2021 = 35,824 (6th graders)
2022 = 35,718 (5th graders)
2023 = 36,091 (4th graders)
2024 = 36,780 (3rd graders)
2025 = 37,423 (2nd graders)
2026 = 37,446 (1st graders)
2027 = 39,948 (Kindergarten)

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Is there too much small college football in Iowa, i.e. is the talent spread too thin?  I think this is a fair question. Aside from Wartburg's run last year, there hasn't been much to cheer about from a national relevancy standpoint.  Dubuque's recent embarrassment certainly didn't help our cause.  Would like to see the Dutch step up and turn around what has been their most mediocre stretch of football in a very long time. I think they have a shot with a young squad returning a lot next year.

If you go back 15 years...
Waldorf moved from junior college to NAIA
Briar Cliff added football and is NAIA
Dordt added football and is NAIA
Grand View added football and is NAIA 

Wasn't Drake some kind of quasi-division III before they moved to whatever they are now?

[WooClone15]

Wasn't Drake some kind of quasi-division III before they moved to whatever they are now?

Yep. Looks like they were d3 from 87-92. I don't know if they were a part of a conference though

[5 Words or Less]

Rick Willis' Wikipedia page

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Willis

[5 Words or Less]

Is editing Wikipedia difficult? 

... Kidding

[doolittledog]

The guy that edits Willis' Wikipedia page has a degree in Quantitative Economics from Tufts???

A - Is someone paying for this guy to edit Willis' Wikipedia page?
B - What do you pay for that sort of service?
C - Why would you pay for that sort of service?
D - Does a guy with a degree in Quantitative Economics from Tufts just like to edit Wiki pages of Iowa Conference football coaches for giggles...or has this become his career? 
E - You can really tell it's the off season 

[DBQ1965]

Wasn't Drake some kind of quasi-division III before they moved to whatever they are now?

Yep. Looks like they were d3 from 87-92. I don't know if they were a part of a conference though

I did some checking and up to '86 Drake played in the Missouri Valley Conference and non-conference games against some good competition.  Then in '86 and on to 94, their schedule was filled with a mix of NAIA and D3 teams which included Loras, Dana, Graceland, Alma, Quincy, Concordia-Neb., Buffalo State, Concordia-Minn, Dayton, Sioux Falls, Simpson, Wartburg, North Central, Evansville, Rose-Hulman, Hope, Nebraska Wesleyan, UW-Oskosh, Milikin, and so on.  In '95 Drake became a charter member of the Pioneer Football League which stretched from the midwest to the west coast.

Enough of that.